Hello, I have recently moved by budgies to an outdoor aviary. I have 8 males and 1 female who at this stage is too young for the boys to figure out she is female. I know I will now need to introduce more females to the aviary or else the boys will eventually start fighting over her. I was wondering would it be best to have an even number of male to female budgies or can life still be harmonious in the aviary with fewer females than males. Thanks, Karyn

Hi Karyn,

You probably won't have much trouble with either even or odd numbers. UNTIL you either add breeding box's or you have squabbles with hens in breeding condition. I have found after a couple of years breeding I seem to be looking for hens. You would definitely have to even the numbers if breeding is on the agenda. Cages are best for that if possible, rather than colony breeding.

Thanks Robyn. I definitely don't want to breed so I won't be introducing any nesting areas into the aviary. I am just a bit concerned about when my one female comes into breeding condition what the males will do. I think I will add 2 or 3 females and then see how that goes.

 

One other question is how often do females come into breeding condition and what times of the year generally?

I had problems with males fighting when I had a ratio of three males to one female. However Noah who initiated it all still wants all the girls. The other two boys don't fight. It might depend on the character of your boys.

Well, myself and other breeders I am sure of, recommend that you only breed females 3 times a year at the most, as it is a very stressful task for them. So they can breed more often but, you will notice that she is in condition when her cere is a dark brown

Hi Karyn,

I think I have read that they come into breeding condition about ever 3 mths, usually when they are in condition the aviary tends to get rather noisy, little squabble's etc. as well as bright blue/tan cere's. Not all will come into condition at the same time, in between breeding cycles they will moult etc.

If you get a couple more hens I think you should have a happy little aviary.